Wonderkid Chido Obi-Martin Scores 14-minute hat-trick on Manchester United debut

Manchester United wonderkid Chido Obi-Martin scored a hat-trick within fourteen minutes of his full debut for the U18s today against Nottingham Forest.

The summer signing from Arsenal, who is still only 16 years of age, couldn’t have dreamed of a better debut at Carrington on Saturday afternoon.

The young Danish striker had already made his first appearance for United midweek, as he came on as a substitute in the 63rd minute for Victor Musa against Sunderland U18s.

On Saturday, Obi-Martin took just 13 seconds to score his first goal for the Red Devils as he latched onto an under-hit back pass from the opposition full back. The striker showed good anticipation, quickly taking the ball in his stride, comfortably rounding the goalkeeper and finishing low with his left foot.

Just five minutes into the game, United’s number 9 scored a second, taking advantage of a poor clearance from the Forest defence. Obi Martin took one touch to set himself up (just inside the box) to drill the ball low into the far left corner.

Adam Lawrence's team were dominant and Obi-Martin competed his hat-trick on fourteen minutes. James Scanlon did great in beating his man on the left hand side to cut the ball back to the striker, who duly finished with a first time strike on his left foot low into the back of the net.

With Manchester United 5-0 up at half time thanks to goals from Scanlon and Amir Ibragimov, Obi-Martin was replaced by Victor Musa for the second half. Jim Thwaites (who also had a superb performance) made it 6-0 on 86 minutes with a stunning free kick, meaning United continued their perfect start to the season with a maximum 21 points from seven games.

Fans have been eagerly anticipating seeing Chido Obi-Martin in action at Carrington and his full debut certainly didn’t disappoint. He showed the ruthless finishing ability we know he is already capable of at such a young age. His size and strength for his age also provides the teenager with a substantial advantage over others in his age group. There will undoubtedly be plenty more goals to come from Obi-Martin and this is just the beginning of an exciting journey to inevitably progress through the United Academy to the first team. His academy teammates also took to social media after the game to compliment his performance.

Of course it’s important to not get carried away with the young Danish forward too early, but it’s evident United just may have another gem on their hands in the academy. His pathway to the first team will not be rushed and he will undoubtedly feature for the U21s on that journey. The teenage striker turns 17 next month and he should also be allowed to develop without the burden of high expectations and constant spotlight of the media. But this is Manchester United, and it’s almost impossible for young emerging talent to be ignored by the mainstream media. Whilst Sir Matt Busby famously once said “If you’re good enough, you’re old enough,’ it is also the coaching staff’s responsibility to ensure they develop the youth players in the best possible way to transition smoothly to the first team. Carrington already has an abundance of young emerging talent and with Obi Martin now a big part of that, the future looks very promising for Manchester United.